


3089: A Space Odyssey

by London9Calling



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2015-09-21
Packaged: 2018-04-22 18:54:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4846562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/London9Calling/pseuds/London9Calling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only thing more annoying than a six month space journey is a six month space journey with Byun Baekhyun as your roommate. Originally written for Chenpionships Fic Fest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	3089: A Space Odyssey

_**6 months to arrival...** _

He told himself he wouldn’t cry. No, crying would mean he was a weak, silly young man, not an adult prepared to take charge of the life ahead of him. To traverse the galaxy towards a bold new world, a world that held his longtime goal, seemingly wrapped in a nice pretty package that came in the form of a boarding pass.

Yet he was crying. He blamed his mother.

“Mom, I will be fine. I will video message you every night.”

“Yes, Mom, I brought along the snacks you made.”

“Mom, Mom, stop crying.”

And then his dad had to look away because he too had a tear in his eye. 

And so it happened that Jongdae boarded the transport ship, the USS Exodus, with tears streaming down his face. It wouldn’t have been that terribly bad if he hadn’t heard the Captain mutter under his breath, “Looks like we have a weak one here” - clearly referring to the fact Jongdae was wiping away his tears as he boarded. Jongdae glared at the short man through his tears, making sure to note his name. Do Kyungsoo. Captain Do Kyungsoo was a jerk and Jongdae would remember it.

The voyage to the outer planet officially named AB1421 (but often referred to as Exoplanet 2) would take six long months, arriving in the middle of the earth year 3089. Jongdae had tried to prepare himself mentally for such a long voyage. He had been on space transports before, but never this far. He had read books on the subject. Compiling all of his learnings, the best advice amounted to: sleep a lot and try to make friends on the ship to pass the time. Jongdae favored the sleeping part but not the socializing part – he preferred to keep to himself. That is why he had asked for a single room on the transport.

When Jongdae opened the door to his room - #1016 -he was happy. It was spacious enough and had a very comfortable looking sleeping pod. Jongdae recalled how much his father had scolded him when it came time to choose a transport ship, lecturing him that he needed to compare and contrast price and accommodations – comfort and quality. As usual, his father was right. The Exodus had nice rooms which appeared to be worth the slightly higher asking price.

Jongdae had a reason other than a want of privacy that drove him ask for a single room. He wasn’t technically traveling alone. He had brought his pet, Yeol, a hyper little thing that belonged to the Exoplanet species Chanrett. Jongdae had been taking care of his little friend since his second year at university, where he quite fittingly specialized in Chanrett behavior.

Jongdae had always loved animals. His parents were both animal behaviorists so it was no big surprise he went into the field. The big surprise, if any, was that he specialized in studying such an exotic species, one that could not be found on earth. Which is why he knew he would eventually be leaving his home planet so he could study the species up close, a fact that culminated in his current journey.

As Jongdae shut the door to his room he opened Yeol’s small cage. It didn’t take long for the animal to poke his head out, take a look around, and quickly decide there was no danger imminent – provoking a hyper bout of running around in circles and crashing into Jongdae’s sleeping pod a few times. Jongdae watched, a smile on his face. At least he wasn’t totally alone.

_**5 months, 26 days to arrival…** _

Four days later Jongdae wished he was totally alone – well, other than Yeol of course. 

That small man, Do Kyungsoo, or Captain Kyungsoo – Jongdae supposed he should show him some sort of respect for captaining the ship (yet Jongdae’s first impression of the man made respect difficult) – knocked on his door. 

Jongdae scooped Yeol back into his cage and answered, wondering who it could be. No one had visited him in the last few days, he didn’t know anyone on the ship after all. He had wandered around the ship the first day, gotten the layout of the vessel down, but hadn’t really conversed with anyone. Maybe it was complimentary room service? As Jongdae opened the door he groaned internally at the sight of the captain.

“Please be aware that your roommate will be arriving later today.” Kyungsoo apparently didn’t mess around with pleasantries, like ‘hello valued customer’ or ‘sorry you have a roommate’.

“Roommate?! I paid for a single room!” Jongdae put his hands on his hips, staring down the Captain.

“I am sure you did. However, there was some sort of mistake and you are going to have to take on a roommate. If you want a refund for the extra amount you paid for a single room please contact customer service. And if you are really unhappy you are free to get off when we stop at the Moon station, though please be aware per our stated policies you will not receive a refund if you choose to do so.”

Jongdae bristled. A roommate? A roommate?! A person he didn’t even know sharing a room with him for six long months. Would they be nice to Yeol? What if they were some kind of weirdo? Jongdae was anxious for the rest of the day, wondering just who this mysterious roommate would turn out to be.

*

He burped. Belched. Loud. Not even an apology or an ‘excuse me’ offered up afterwards.

Jongdae pushed the red button on his sleeping pod, the top of the pod receding back into the shell. The single gaseous exertion had woken him from his slumber. Apparently his roommate had arrived. Oh, joy.

Jongdae stepped out of his pod, trying with all his might to hide his frown. If he had to share a room with someone for six months it would be best to get off on the right foot, pleasant and nice and not full of glowering and scowling and all of the other animated expressions Jongdae would likely make if he wasn’t careful.

“Hey buddy! Didn’t see you there!” He was about Jongdae’s height. His hair an ash brown, his expression rather…playful.

“Hi. You must be my roommate.” Jongdae held out his hand, repeating over and over in his mind that being polite and kind and accommodating is exactly what his mother would want him do.

The man reached his hand forward as if he would shake Jongdae’s hand. When his hand was almost touching Jongdae’s he pulled it away. “Too slow!” He chirped, bursting out laughing.

And it was decided - Jongdae hated him. Loathed him at first sight.

“Nice room.” The man was carrying a duffel bag that looked like it was covered in at least an inch of moon dust. In fact, the more Jongdae looked at the man, he looked like he had bathed in moon dust. His denim coveralls were covered in dirt, all smudged and disgusting and not at all something Jongdae wanted within five feet of him.

“My name is Kim Jongdae.” 

“Byun Baekhyun. You can call me handsome though.” Baekhyun winked at Jongdae, chuckling. “Hey, so do you have a food synthesizer in here?” 

Jongdae stood in the middle of the room, watching as Baekhyun started pulling open compartments and eyeing up anything and everything he could come within two feet of. When he neared Yeol’s cage Jongdae reacted quickly, rushing forward. ”Leave that alone!”

“Why? Is this where you hide your dirty magazines?” Baekhyun giggled.

“No!”

“Oh, so you keep them somewhere else?” Baekhyun teased before walking over to Jongdae’s sleeping pod. “Nice pod. I like your pillows.”

“They are the same as your pillows.” Jongdae stated tersely. A second sleeping pod had been brought into the room earlier in the day by one of the ship’s crewmembers and it was, without a doubt, identical to Jongdae’s pod.

“Really? I wonder why they look less…fluffy than yours.” Baekhyun’s lips formed a pout for a moment before he burst out laughing again. “So Jongkim, why are you on your way to the middle of nowhere?”

Jongdae counted to ten in his head before answering. “My name is JONGDAE, not JONGKIM. I am going to Exoplanet for work.”

“Work?! So am I!” Baekhyun threw his duffel bag down next to his sleeping pod. “So what do you do for a living, Jongkim?”

“JongDAE. My name is JongDAE.”

“Hey, hey, calm down. How about I call you Jong?” Baekhyun began riffling through his duffel bag, throwing the contents all around as he searched for something.

“I am an animal behaviorist. I specialize in Chanrett behavior.” Jongdae explained as calmly as he could, given the immense amount of annoyance he felt at the moment.

“Wow..what a coincidence!” Baekhyun sprang up from where he had been crouched down by his duffel bag, pulling out a piece of paper. “I deal in Chanretts too!”

“Really?” Jongdae couldn’t believe that this filthy moon-born man had anything to do with such lovely creatures. 

“Yes. I am a varmint hunter. See!” Baekhyun held up the piece of paper. Jongdae read it, bristling as he made out the words.

_Byun Baekhyun, Pest Control. Certified to operate by the Galactic Pest Control Board. License #2,367,891._

“You kill them!” Jongdae blurted out.

“Well, yeah. Or resettle them. Little buggers, always making a nuisance of themselves.” Baekhyun shook his head as he spoke, as though the thought of the creatures disgusted him. 

Jongdae, his protective instincts in overdrive, practically jumped to Yeol’s cage. Reaching down he fidgeted, making sure the door was locked securely. “You better not touch him!”

“Oh, oh-“Baekhyun strained to see what was inside the cage.

“He is my pet and you better not lay a finger on him or I will throw you down the garbage shoot and watch you explode in space!” Jongdae hugged the cage to him, Yeol‘s squeaks sounding from within as though he could sense his owner’s alarm.

“Okay, okay. Calm down JongKim. I am not going to hurt your little friend. Geez.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes and went back to unpacking his bag. Jongdae kept Yeol’s cage next to him, watching Baekhyun with the utmost suspicion.

_**5 months, 25 days to arrival…** _

 

“Hey Jong, ever been to the moon?” Baekhyun asked, his mouth full of food, his words hard to understand.

“No.” Jongdae had Yeol out of his cage and was busy trying to hold the hyper creature in his arms. He had hesitated doing so but he knew his pet hated being cooped up for long periods of time. Plus he couldn’t keep Yeol locked away for six months straight; he would have to get him used to Baekhyun and vice versa – hopefully without having to throw Baekhyun down the garbage shoot.

“Then you have never tasted moon food, huh?” Baekhyun held out a bar of food, a grey porous looking thing that made Jongdae move away in revulsion. Yeol on the other hand showed interest in the food – not a surprise since Chanretts were known for their immense appetites.

“No, Yeol, you can’t eat that!” Jongdae pulled his pet away from the gross food, afraid of what it could do to Yeol’s sensitive stomach.

“Hey, it tastes good!” Baekhyun protested, taking another bite.

“It looks disgusting.” Jongdae wasn’t even about to comment about how it smelled. There was a touch of something fermented in the odor.

“Looks and tastes are two different things.” Baekhyun sighed contently as he took yet another bite. “Plus your earth food probably isn’t anything special.”

Jongdae didn’t feel like Baekhyun’s comment deserved a response so he kept mum.

“I was going to go to the earth once. Heard you have rats this big.” Baekhyun held his arms out, spanning about four feet, “But my Dad got sick and I never made it.”

Without fail, Jongdae always heard his mother’s voice at times like this. She was his moral compass, a trait garnered after years of being scolded for not being polite or saying the right thing or helping grandmothers across streets or holding the door open for people. She was there again, reminding him that it was rude not to offer any kind words, so he blurted out “Sorry to hear…about your Dad.”

“Yeah. Thanks. Hey it happens, right.” Baekhyun yawned. “Hey, I think it is time to hit the hay. Night night Jong.”

“Goodnight.” Jongdae muttered, not really meaning it.

_**5 months, 20 days to arrival…** _

Baekhyun stayed still. Very still. The noise of his sleeping pod opening wasn’t extremely loud though it wasn’t quiet either. He counted to thirty, listening. Jongdae was still snoring, lightly. Carefully Baekhyun stepped out of the pod, one foot then the other. Moving on his tiptoes, afraid to make any noise, Baekhyun made his way over to the compartment near Jongdae’s pod.

Baekhyun had debated if this was the right thing to do. After all, stealing was wrong. But it wasn’t like he was really stealing. He would certainly replace what he took with moon food. It wasn’t stealing so much as trading. Yes, that’s it.

Jimmying the compartment open, Baekhyun carefully took out one of the containers. He had seen Jongdae eating from it earlier that day. The stuff looked delicious. It smelled sweet too. He had never had earth food before and he didn’t want to miss this chance, not when his stomach was instantly attracted to the stuff. 

Taking out the container he slowly opened the lid. Baekhyun froze when the lid snapped open, listening. Glancing over he could see Jongdae still asleep, that little varmint he kept snuggled up to him. Exhaling nervously, Baekhyun dipped his hand in, taking a good helping of the food and shoveling it into his mouth.

It tasted like heaven.

Baekhyun had originally only wanted a taste…or a few bites. It wasn’t his fault the stuff was so good. When he put the container back it was empty, licked clean.

* 

“Did you eat this!?” Jongdae stood in front of Baekhyun’s sleeping pod, empty container in hand.

Baekhyun was in the middle of dreaming about his favorite moon sports team making it to the finals – when his vision was shattered by his roommate’s shouts and he was not at all happy. Clicking open his sleeping pod he groaned.

“Did you eat my chocolate cake last night?!” Jongdae repeated, shoving the container in Baekhyun’s face.

“No!” Baekhyun rubbed his eyes sleepily.

“Then why is your mouth covered in chocolate?!”

Oh..there was that. “I..um…offered you moon food. You can have some of mine.”

“I don’t want your disgusting moon food. And if you touch my stuff again I will not hesitate to –“

Baekhyun pushed the red button, shutting his sleeping pod as Jongdae was mid-rant. Closing his eyes he tried to go back to sleep. He was almost back to dreaming, the lights of the moon stadium, the cheers of the crowd before him when he heard a curious noise. Opening his eyes he stared in shock as a piece of tape covered the front of his sleeping pod.

“What – what are you doing?!” Baekhyun shouted, pushing the red open button repeatedly, the door seemingly jammed.

“Taping you in there until you learn some manners!” Jongdae retorted, wrapping yet more tape around the pod.

It was five hours before Jongdae let him out – and only because he could no longer take Baekhyun’s whining.

_**5 months, 5 days to arrival…** _

“Hey?! Where are my pillows?” Baekhyun narrowed his eyes at Jongdae, knowing full well his roommate likely had something to do with the missing bedding. 

“I have no idea.” Jongdae didn’t bother to look at Baekhyun as he answered, he was too focused on rereading his thesis on the sleeping patterns of the Chanrett.

Baekhyun glared. He had been gone from the room for most of the day, having decided he needed some time away from his moody roommate. What he found as he wandered the ship was that most people seemed to keep to themselves. There were a few people at the sparsely populated lounge area and he did have some fun explaining the finer methods of varmint control to them, but all in all it wasn’t that much more exciting outside his room than in it.

“Well then you won’t mind if I take yours.” Baekhyun walked over to Jongdae’s sleeping pod, intent on retrieving his pillows.

“Fine, whatever.” Jongdae didn’t bat an eyelash.

Baekhyun grew suspicious. Why was Jongdae not upset? Jongdae loathed whenever Baekhyun touched anything that belonged to him. “Is this a trap?”

“A trap. Please.”

Baekhyun pushed the button on the sleeping pod, as the door swooshed open something tumbled out. Baekhyun couldn’t tell what it was at first, he just reacted, stepping backward. He didn’t move quickly enough though as a shower of water sprang down on him. Turning, he gave Jongdae a death look.

“You shouldn’t have eaten my cake.”

“You hold a grudge forever, don’t you?” 

Jongdae shrugged, noncommittally.

_**4 months, 15 days to arrival…** _

“What college did you go to?” Baekhyun was playing a game on his tablet, yet he still found a lot of time to talk. Jongdae had always thought games (he didn’t play them) required concentration. Not for Baekhyun apparently, the man talked more as he played.

“You wouldn’t know it.” Jongdae was feeding Yeol, offering the creature the little Chanrett pellets he had so carefully packed alongside his own food. The food that Baekhyun had gotten into. Not like he was still bitter or anything.

“I might know it, you never know.”

“Seoul University of Animal Sciences.”

“Yeah, don’t know it.”

“See, I told you.” Jongdae watched as Yeol gobbled up another pellet, his cheeks puffing out as he scarfed down the food.

“Hey, JongKim, did you ever have a girlfriend or a boyfriend?”

“I am not going to answer that.”

“Means you didn’t.” Baekhyun made a shooting noise as he pushed down on his tablet aggressively. “I did once. A girlfriend. She left me for a woman. Her best friend.”

“She probably left you because you talk too much.”

“You probably have never had a relationship because you don’t talk enough.” 

“Shut up Baekhyun.”

“No.”

Jongdae sighed heavily. He pushed the last pellet of food into Yeol’s cage. The animal attempted to pick up the pellet when he suddenly started gagging. Jongdae watched in horror as his pet sputtered and coughed. “Oh my god, I think he is choking!”

“What?” Baekhyun dropped his tablet, rushing over to the cage.

“Oh my god. Oh my god.” Jongdae started to panic, not sure what to do despite his years and years of training in the care and study of Chanretts. He screeched out loud as Yeol fell to the bottom of his cage.

“Get out of the way!” Baekhyun pushed Jongdae aside, opening Yeol’s cage quickly he pulled the animal out. Jongdae, shaking all over, watched as Baekhyun began giving the small animal mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Yeol sputtered, a flurry of pellets flying from his mouth as he began to take deep, ragged breaths. 

“There, there little buddy.” Baekhyun patted the animal’s back as he kept coughing.

“You…saved him.” Jongdae said in disbelief.

“Well you were just sitting there useless, I had to do something.” Baekhyun rolled his eyes before walking over to his tablet, continuing his game.

_**4 months, 8 days to arrival…** _

Jongdae was on edge. He had left Yeol in his cage back in his room – with Baekhyun. He hadn’t wanted to but he didn’t really have a choice. Not when he had been summoned to the captain’s office. Most of the ship didn’t allow pets so Jongdae couldn’t risk it. He had threatened Baekhyun multiple times before he left, which he hoped would be enough to keep Baekhyun from coming near Yeol’s cage. It was true that Baekhyun had technically saved the small animal’s life the other day, but Jongdae was still not comfortable with having his pet loose around a varmint catcher.

Jongdae was confused what the captain wanted with him. The notice had been vague. The captain’s office sat on the other side of a reception desk, a robotic receptionist manning the door. “Please state your name and purpose.”

“Kim Jongdae, I received a summons that the captain wants to see me.”’

The receptionist ran his name through her database before opening the door. “Please enter.”

Captain Do Kyungsoo’s office was large, with a huge window that offered an amazing view of space. An oversized metal desk sat in the middle of the room, a monstrous thing that made the tiny captain look even smaller.

“Kim Jongdae. Sit.” The captain ordered. 

Jongdae took a seat in one of the metal chairs. He couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. What was this all about?

The captain punched a few words into his tablet before reading out, in a monotone voice, “A report has been filed against you for harassing another passenger. You are hereby on notice that any further complaints will result in removal from this ship, to be deposited at the nearest space station.”

Complaint?! Complaint?! Baekhyun had reported him….that sniveling little roach. “Who filed the complaint?”

“I can’t reveal that information. Now go try to be a decent person.” Kyungsoo pointed towards the door. Jongdae felt like screaming, protesting, explaining that his chocolate cake – his innocent chocolate cake had fallen victim first and who wouldn’t tape that annoying no good moon moron in a pod if they had to put up with him for more than ten minutes.

Instead he stood and walked towards the door. Sometimes he wished he didn’t hate confrontation so much. He fumed the entire way back to his room. So Baekhyun was like that, huh – running to tell on Jongdae as soon as something didn’t go his way. It wasn’t annoyance anymore. No, he felt hatred. Pure unadulterated hatred for that disgusting, no good –

Jongdae pushed the button to open the door several times, practically hitting the thing. As the door opened his eyes immediately flew to the cage that was sitting open in the middle of the room. Baekhyun had let Yeol out. Jongdae had enough. They could deposit him wherever they wanted, because he was going to fillet Baekhyun alive. He was going to-

And then he paused. Because his future murder victim wasn’t standing over his deceased pet. Or eating more of his food. He was asleep, on the floor, Yeol curled up to his side, sleeping soundly alongside him. Yeol, Jongdae’s companion, his pet, his friend. That little traitor. 

“Wake up!” Jongdae finally snapped back into his anger, shaking Baekhyun awake. Yeol woke up with a start, scurrying away as he took in the sight of his angry owner.

“Hey, hey! Stop that.” Baekhyun moved away from Jongdae’s reach. “What is it?”

“You reported me to the captain!” Jongdae spat.

“Reported you? I didn’t report you.” 

“Well then who did? Because I was just scolded for harassing another passenger.” Jongdae was sure Baekhyun was lying. No one else could have done it. Jongdae hardly ever left the room and he most certainly hadn’t done anything to any of the other passengers on board.

“I don’t know! How should I kno-“Baekhyun stopped, his mouth forming a perfect O.

“What?! What is it?”

“I…well,” Baekhyun flinched at the memory, “May have spilled a drink on someone the other day. Twice. Okay, three times and gave them your name.”

“You idiot!” Jongdae began swatting at Baekhyun, his slaps hitting the man’s arms hard, eliciting more than one loud cry of ‘ow’. 

As Jongdae continued slapping, his pet moved forward. The small creature positioned himself in the path of Jongdae’s hand. His owner froze, taken aback. Was Yeol protecting Baekhyun?

Baekhyun seemed as surprised by the Chanrett’s behavior as Jongdae, both men sitting still, staring at the small animal.

“I…think he likes you.” Jongdae said slowly, not able to believe what he was seeing.

“Holy space dust I think you are right.” Baekhyun stared at the little Chanrett, who was so boldly protecting him.

“I hate you both!” Jongdae promptly stood, stomped over to his sleeping pod, and shut himself inside, a mystified Baekhyun and a courageous Yeol left to digest his dramatic outburst.

_**3 months, 29 days to arrival…** _

“Why did you decide to become a varmint catcher?” Jongdae had actually started to wonder as much in the last few days. After seeing how much Yeol whined and tried to be near Baekhyun – much to Jongdae’s discomfort - he grew curious as to why the man killed or relocated such animals for a living when he seemed to be so…decent with Yeol.

“My parents own a pest control business, I went into the family business.” Baekhyun answered, his tone rather indifferent and dripping with boredom.

“Then why not stay on the moon?” Jongdae asked. They were both lying in their sleeping pods, though neither man had fallen asleep yet.

“I wanted to see what I could do on my own. I can’t live under my parents’ control forever.”

“Oh.” Jongdae thought that Baekhyun actually offered up a pretty good reason for his journey.

“Hey- I guess we both followed our parents into their line of work, huh.” Baekhyun had been half listening when Jongdae had told him that his parents were animal behaviorists.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Hey, we might actually have some things in common.” 

Jongdae wasn’t sure he wanted to go that far.

“What’s your favorite song?” Baekhyun asked, “Like most favorite ever. Say it on the count of three.”

Jongdae hated the childish things Baekhyun came up with – mostly. But then again it wasn’t like he had anything else to do. On the count of three he said loudly, “Space Winds”. He almost jumped out of his pod when he realized that his answer was echoed by Baekhyun.

“No! Seriously! Wow, see Jongkim we have a lot in common.” Baekhyun laughed.

“I’m tired.” Jongdae decided he didn’t want to talk anymore.

_**3 months, 17 days to arrival…** _

The flier was magenta colored, a horrible smattering of bold letters and mix and match font. Talent show.

“Hope you like performing Jongkim, because I signed us up.” Baekhyun beamed as he shoved the flier towards Jongdae.

“What?!” Jongdae was not happy. “Why would you do that?!”

“I heard you singing to Yeol the other day. Plus it won’t hurt anything. It isn’t like we will probably see half these people again any way.”

“What will we even sing?” Jongdae felt a sense of immense dread. He didn’t like performing. In fact he loathed it. He hated even giving presentations in school, much less showing off a talent.

“Our favorite song, of course.” Baekhyun winked. Jongdae deeply regretted ever revealing his favorite song, deeply regretted it.

_**2 months, 25 days to arrival…** _

Objectively it was Jongdae’s fault. He was the one that had opened the door without checking where Yeol was. Subjectively Jongdae blamed Baekhyun for having let Yeol out of his cage to begin with. 

“But he wanted to cuddle!” Baekhyun whined, flaunting his new found friendship with Jongdae’s Chanrett.

Jongdae could swear time slowed down at that moment. The door opened and Yeol, hyper little creature that he was, darted out the opening. A flurry of shouts followed and Jongdae and Baekhyun rushed out of the room, hot on the Chanrett’s path.

Chanretts, as Jongdae was well aware, could run at a speed of ten miles per hour. Quite a feat for such a little thing. Unfortunately, Jongdae thought, Chanretts could run at a speed of ten miles an hour. They quickly lost sight of him.

“He went this way!” Baekhyun pointed down a corridor.

“No, he went this way!” Jongdae contradicted him.

They split up, meeting up again in the ship's lounge, both empty handed. Jongdae was on the verge of tears and Baekhyun, well, he was crying. “What if the little guy gets hungry?”

Jongdae wondered if this is how parents felt when their children wandered out of their line of sight. He found himself putting a hand on Baekhyun’s back, offering up a few comforting pats before he pulled his hand away in revulsion.

Then they heard screams. They looked at each other, their eyes growing wide. “Yeol!”

They found him in the ladies restroom, chewing on a toilet paper roll. When they cornered him, Yeol knew he was in trouble. He froze and then twitched his nose cutely waiting for his punishment. Instead of a punishment he was treated to a hug, Jongdae picking him up and showering kisses on the small creature. Baekhyun wasn’t about to be left out of the affection party either, throwing his arms around Yeol and by default Jongdae as he hugged them close. 

They stood like that, the three of them, for almost a minute until the two men realized what they were doing. Jongdae jumped back, clutching Yeol to him. Baekhyun blushed. They never spoke of it again.

_**2 months, 11 days to arrival…** _

The ship’s lounge was full, the talent show bringing many guests out of their rooms to seek relief from the long journey’s boredom. Jongdae and Baekhyun went first, singing Space Winds. Jongdae thought they did okay, and he was relieved when it was over. Baekhyun grumbled when they didn’t win first place – the trophy going to passenger Kim Minseok who happened to flash his abs during his dance routine.

“A cheap way to get votes.” Baekhyun muttered as they returned to their rooms.

Jongdae fed Yeol and then played around on his tablet for a while. When it came time to go to bed he found himself thinking about the day. The talent show was fun, if nerve-wracking. He almost felt grateful that Baekhyun had talked him into it. 

Staring at the ceiling through his sleeping pod door his mind went down a path he didn’t really want to explore. Specifically the fact that Baekhyun was a lot less annoying lately. Even Yeol liked him and that wasn’t an easy task. Yeol had never even warmed up to Jongdae’s parents and they had known the animal for years. 

Plus Baekhyun hadn’t stolen any more of Jongdae’s food. He was still loud, talked too much, and burped without saying ‘excuse me’. When he played video games he was particularly loud, and when he snored it sounded like his sleeping pod door would pop off from the noise. But…but….Jongdae wasn’t as consistently annoyed anymore. 

What was wrong with him?

_**1 month to arrival…** _

“I don’t like him.” Jongdae whispered, Baekhyun eyeing up the captain.

“Why?” Baekhyun asked. The two men were at the complimentary happy hour, an event held to celebrate the five month mark of the journey. The captain was hosting the event, which largely consisted of him ignoring everyone as he talked with a stewardess.

“I just don’t.” Jongdae didn’t want to admit that his dislike stemmed from the fact that Kyungsoo made fun of his tears as he boarded the ship.

“Watch this.” Baekhyun, wine glass in hand, sauntered across the room. Jongdae watched as Baekhyun expertly tripped on the edge of the food table, spilling his wine all over the captain. Jongdae clasped a hand to his mouth so he wouldn’t laugh out loud.

“That was awesome.” Jongdae smiled when Baekhyun returned, after having offered a dozen apologize to the angry captain.

“I know. I usually am pretty awesome.” Baekhyun winked. 

_**21 days to arrival…** _

Baekhyun had Yeol on his lap. The animal was on his back, letting Baekhyun rub his belly as his tail twitched continuously – a sign he was happy.

“I am going to miss this little guy.” Baekhyun said, delighting in the way Yeol moved into his touch.

Jongdae watched, not daring to speak. Because he wanted to say – against all his better judgement – “We will miss you too.”

_**0 days to arrival…** _

It felt weird to be on solid ground again. The docking bay was teeming, the passengers retrieving their luggage and making their way to waiting space taxis. Jongdae dragged his luggage behind him. Baekhyun walking next to him, holding Yeol’s cage. He had offered to do so since Jongdae’s arms were so full. Jongdae had readily agreed, his long ago aversion to Baekhyun handling Yeol long gone. They stopped near the end of the long walkway that opened up into the cavernous boarding area. 

“Well, I guess this is goodbye.” Baekhyun held up Yeol’s cage, and peeking inside he said, “Now be good for your Dad. No running away or choking or doing anything else that will worry him.”

Yeol squeaked in response, then began whining as Baekhyun handed the cage over to Jongdae.

They stared at each other, neither saying anything.

Jongdae had thought about it last night, their goodbye. What he should say. What he should do. 

“Take it easy, Jong.” Baekhyun smiled.

“You too.” Jongdae answered.

“Hey, if you want we should get dinner sometime.” Baekhyun offered. 

“That would be great. Yeol would probably like to see you too, since he likes you so much.” Jongdae felt increasingly awkward, which wasn’t aided by the fact his mouth suddenly decided to move against his better judgment. “And I would like it, I mean, to see you if you aren’t too busy with varmint catching and all. I didn’t think we could be friends before but you are so annoying I think you kind of grew on me.”

Baekhyun laughed, loud, throwing his head back. “Yeah, I guess you grew on me too. So, do you have your apartment all ready and waiting for you?”

“Yeah.” Jongdae wasn’t stupid, of course he had arrangements already made.

“Really?” Baekhyun suddenly looked a bit mischievous. “Do you need a roommate? Because I don’t have a place to stay.”

“You came all the way here without figuring out where you would live?” Jongdae couldn’t believe it. No, scratch that, he could completely believe it.

“Well, yeah. So how bout it roomie?”

“Fine. But you are paying half the rent.”

“Deal.” Baekhyun threw an arm over Jongdae’s shoulders, taking Yeol’s cage back with his free hand. “This is going to be fun! Right Yeol?”

The Chanrett squeaked, seeming to agree wholeheartedly.

End.


End file.
